Top 10 Chicago Restaurant Dishes of 2010

It was a busy year with lots more eating at home than in the past, but I still managed to have some terrific things out. Here's a list of my 10 favorites consumed at Chicago restaurants in 2010 - all things I'd never had from these establishments before:

10. Cuban sandwich at Cafe Havana in Itasca
9. Salami Toscana at Mado (RIP)
8. Char Veal at El Llano
7. Torta Ahogada at Las Cazuelas on S. Pulaski
6. Green salad with meyer lemon dressing at Longman & Eagle
5. Gang Hung Lay at Sticky Rice
4. Candied grapefruit peel at Mado (RIP)
3. Squid ink spaghetti at La Trattoria de Merlo
2. Stuffed and fried olives given out for free at Spacca Napoli (wish they'd put these on the menu)
1. Fried turkey/ turkey marrow at Sweet Nick's


I had fun reading the 2009 lists from other LTHers last year, and doing so prompted me to try several excellent places that were new to me. I look forward to reading about your favorites from 2010.

I can give you five now. I'll have to think more about it.

1. Roasted parsnip soup with chesntuts, Les Nomades
2. Seared scallop with ginger/butternut squash puree, Tru
3. Borscht (red) with mini mushroom pierogis, Smak Tak
4. Green pepper, onion, and garlic pizza, Jim & Pete's
5. Roquefort burger, very rare, Goldyburgers (I was drunk and hungry)

Cannot resist a top 10...

10. Bo La Lot @ Pho Xua
9. Basmati Rice @ Barwaqo Kabob
8. Fried Turkey @ Sweet Nick's Caribbean
7. Goat Stew Lunch Plate @ Cafe Central

6. Lamb with Wild Mushroom Casserole @ Lao Beijing
5. Filipino Breakfast with Tocino @ Uncle Mike's Place
4. Kinoko and Yamaimo Ponzu @ Takashi

3. All three things I ate with Grilled Octopus @ The Publican
2. Mr. G @ J.P. Graziano's

1. Zaragoza- 'nuff said.

Jefe wrote:1. Zaragoza- 'nuff said.

Haven't formulated a list but I'm pretty certain that mine would conclude this way too.

Hmm... not that much in restaurant dishes from me.

A short list, without order:

Vie: Beef two ways, with a marrow sauce that knocked my socks off
Double Li: Black Pepper Garlic Beef Tender Loin (sic)
Union Pizzeria (Evanston): Veal/Pork Meatballs
Mercat a la Panxa: Mar I Muntanya during Restaurant Week
Wolfy's Northbrook: Char Salami

Kennyz wrote:I had fun reading the 2009 lists from other LTHers last year, and doing so prompted me to try several excellent places that were new to me.

Not big on lists, top tens or dis be .07% better den dat, but Kenny is correct, they are fun to read and I'll make one. Anyway, I feel obliged as I've already got one of my top ten 2011 must-trys from this thread, Sweet Nick's for fried turkey, which made it onto two lists in the first three posts.

I had an odd year, with a lot of down time and quite a bit of time away from the Chicago area but I still had trouble narrowing it down to 10, so here are my favorite 15 and a few honorable mentions. In no particular order . . .


Braised and Crispy Lamb Neck at The Publican



Revithia at Avli Estiatorio



Ahogada sandwich at Xoco



Mantoo at Kabul House



Waitress Sandwich at Wilmette Chuck Wagon



Squab In 4 Parts at Alinea



Pork Neck Larb at Spoon Thai



Wild Alaskan Halibut with Morels and Pea Puree at Prairie Fire



Pig's Ear with Crispy Kale, Marinated Cherry Peppers and Fried Egg at The Purple Pig



Old Fries with Gardiniera at Edzo's Burger Shop



Roasted Morels with Bone Marrow, Green Garlic, Parsley and Pickled Garlic at Vie



Tacos de Lengua at Tierra Caliente



Buffalo Wings at Toons



Bison Short Rib Sliders at Sable Kitchen & Bar



Reuben Dawg (aka Reuben Pulaski) Franks N Dawgs


Honorable Mention:
Sausage Pizza at Stop 50 Wood Fired Pizzeria
Qudsiya at Dawali Mediterranean Kitchen
Garlic Rainbow at Tao Ran Ju
Goat Merguez Sausage at The Bristol
Garbage Omelet with Old Potatoes at Patty's Diner (RIP)
Pork Belly Tacos at Big Star
Marinated and Grilled Salmon Collar at Tampopo
French Lentils with tomato marmalade, Capriole Farm goat cheese and crispy shallots at Prairie Fire
Duck Ballotine Pate at Prairie Fire
Naem Khao Thawt at Spoon Thai
Slow-Roasted Cedar Valley Pork Belly with smashed local potatoes, braised housemade gardiniera, pork sausage and spring onion gravy at Vie
Warm Spinach and Creme Fraiche Flan with crispy lardo, wood-grilled scallions and wilted spinach at Vie
Gunthorp Farm Chicken Two Ways: Country-Fried Breast and Crispy Scrapple with grilled melrose pepper, summer beans and cream corn at Vie
Nathan's Charcuterie Plate: turkey liver mousse, turkey rillettes, coppa and Canadian bacon at Vie (11/12/10)
Blood Cake with yukon gold potato puree, farm egg, onion and brown butter at Vie

=R=

Ronnie,
While I'm sure the food was great those pics are some of the best I've seen in this brief 2011. Really nice job.

ronnie_suburban wrote:I had an odd year, with a lot of down time and quite a bit of time away from the Chicago area but I still had trouble narrowing it down to 10, so here are my favorite 15 and a few honorable mentions. In no particular order . . .


Braised and Crispy Lamb Neck at The Publican

I'm honored I got to share with you that top dish of the year (even though you said the list was in no particular order, I'm claiming it as #1). I raved about that dish to Paul Kahan in October.

My list in no particular order, Ill include places out where I live as I consider it Chicagoland:

- Crispy pata - Sunda
- Hamburger with fried egg - Big & Little's
- Fried Chicken - Verucchi's Spring Vally
- Som Tum - Elephant Thai
- Sausage Pizza - Vito & Nick's - Lemont
- Pulled Pork - Lillie's Q
- al pastor tacos - Tierra Caliente
- pork belly tacos - Big Star
- fish tostada - Big Star
- shrimp dumpling w/braised noodles - Fabulous Noodles


honorable mention since they are not actually a dish, but events:
- Pig Roast & Crawfish Boil - Toon's

Im quite certain I have forgotten some, but these were the freshest in my memory. 2010 was a damn good year of eating and drinking.

That lamb neck looks delicious. A few cheaters on my list. #8 is from Baconfest and #3 is from the GCM BBQ. Lots of good food this year.

10.) Ramen from Arami

9.) Creton from Kith and Kin

8.) Spring Pea, Bacon and Pecorino Salad from Purple Pig

7.) Roasted Pork Loin with Apricots, Green Olives, and Creme Fraiche from Nightwood

6.) Wood Grilled Octopus from Taxim

5.) Persimmon Pie from Hoosier Mama

4.) Tete de Cochon from Longman and Eagle

3.) Hazelnut Macaron with Trout Mousse and Pickled Cherries from North Pond

2.) Medai with Ume, Sudachi, and Fried Garlic Chip from L2O

1.) Fried Rabbit from Mado

Special Mention: Horseradish Raw Cheddar from Brunkow and Double Honey Confiture by Flora Confections

It would be hard for me to single out individual dishes (since I tend to forget when I actually ate things), so here are my top 10 (in no particular order) Chicago food experiences for the year:

1. The Publican - I always have a hard time answering the question "what's your favorite restaurant", but The Publican is probably the best answer I can give. I had many great meals there in 2010 and I look forward to seeing how this restaurant continues to evolve.

2. Tru (the Resurrection) - Went in with low expectations for an anniversary dinner and was completely blown away by what turned out to be a revitalized restaurant.

3. The Purple Pig - My favorite new restaurant. The crispy pig ear is great, as is an open-faced jamon sandwich I had on one visit. The Sicilian Iris might be my favorite dessert in the city.

4. Avenues - Quietly outstanding.

5. Del Seoul - Great new opening in my neighborhood. The kalbi and spicy pork tacos are my go-to items, but the dumplings, kimchi, and pickles are also delicious.

6. Les Nomades - The most egregious omission from Chicago's Michelin stars.

7. Sol de Mexico - Got here a couple of times this year and it remains my favorite Mexican place (non-taqueria division) in the city. The tortilla soup that I had on my last visit was especially wonderful.

8. Chilam Bilam - Another place where I went in with low expectations and was pleasantly surprised.

9. Calumet Fisheries - A meeting in NW Indiana finally got me to Calumet Fisheries for the first time. The smoked shrimp where good, but the smoked salmon was on a whole other level. Finishing my order by toasting the last bits of skin was the best possible tribute I could think of to a wonderful piece of fish.

10. Masu Izakaya - RIP. A restaurant that closed too soon and didn't get nearly enough LTH love.

My top ten (in no particular order):

1. Scallop and Uni nigiri at Katsu

2. Rice, Stew, Goat, Banana at Barwaqo Kabab

3. Sunchoke Pizza at Great Lakes.

4. Naeng Myun at Cho Sun Ok.

5. Birria Tetamada con Machito at Birrieria La Barca (!!)

6. Wood-Grilled Ribeye with Tomatillo Cascabel at Mixteco Grill.

7. Churros at Maxwell Street Market.

8. Unidentifiable Almond-Paste and Rosewater Algerian Dessert at Tassili

9. Mansef at Salam.

10. Khubz Taboon and Lahm bil 'Ajeen at Taza Bakery.

I'll give five from last year that I think about constantly whenever I'm hungry. Not necessarily the most amazing, but the most compulsively, memorably, covetously, and satisfyingly edible.

- chicken larb Thai-style hot at Sticky Rice
- debris fries at fRedhots, plus giardiniera, minus cheese
- grilled octopus at Vie
- chicken and waffles with a side of bacon at Nightwood
- zaalouk at Marrakech

Using Santander's criteria--in no particular order:

Bucatini Carbonara - Cibo Matto
Jive Turkey Sandwich - Toons
Inihaw Pork - Isla Pilipina
Cornish Game Hen – George’s Kabob
BBQ anything – Sun Wah
Honey Jalapeno Pork Chops – Café 28
Shrimp and Grits with Poached Egg – Big Jones
Pizza Lincoln Square – Trattoria Trullo
Mahalo Burger (Original) – Bad Apple
Neckbones and Gravy – Purple Pig

Wait, it goes to eleven:

Grilled octopus at Santorini

Top 10 in no particular order

1.
Chicken Thigh Kabob Pita - Naf Naf Grill, Naperville

2.
Torta Al Pastor - Taco Grill, Westmont

3.
The Atomic Bomb: Damn Spicy Pork Sausage with Chipotle Dijonnaise and Fontina Cheese - Hot Dougs

4.

White Pizza and Sausage Pizza - Coalfire

5.
Pork Belly Taco - Big Star

6.
Polish Polenta Dog - Franks N Dawgs

7.
Patita de Puerco, Chorizo, Erizo: Crispy nugget of homemade chorizo and pig's feet, unctuous slow-poached egg, creamy tequila-infused sea urchin sauce. Dollop of smoked paddlefish roe - Topolobampo

8. Tips and Links Combo - Honey 1

9. Crispy parisienne gnocchi, black trumpet mushrooms, black truffle butter, pickled and roasted carrots, prairie fruits farm fresh chevre - Vie

10. Bollito Misto: Cotechino sausage, pork shoulder and smoked turkey - The Publican

Numbers are arbitrary only, not a rank. Pulling my favorite foods down to 10 (err...13) is hard enough without having to judge them against each other.

1. The Frenchie Burger at Bad Apple OR the Prime Burger at C-House (can't choose between them)
2. Snowballs (escolar with truffle and scallions) at Usagi-Ya
3. Bone marrow AND pig's tails at Purple Pig
4. Shrimp Tempura Asparagus Maki at Arami (am I the only one who didn't love the ramen?)
5. Cumin Sausage-Stuffed Quail at Blackbird
6. Sausage & Spinach pizza at Castel Gandolfo (that crust!) AND white pizza with bacon, red peppers & artichokes at Piece (a few pints of their dysfunctionale helps it slide right down, too)
7. Pumpkin Ice Cream at Bobtail
8. Broiled mackerel at Ginza Fish House (so simple, so delicious)
9. Fried Chicken and Tasso Gravy at The Southern (their Southern Mess takes a very close second...)
10. French Toast with Grand Marnier Creme Anglaise at Branch 27 (I don't even like sweet breakfasts, but this blew me away)

I know as soon as I hit "publish" I'll think of 10 other dishes that were equally or more awesome, but I have to draw a line somewhere.

I love reading everyone's lists and getting so many ideas for my own 2011 "hit list."

Keep 'em coming!

Thanks!

=R=

Mine:

Squab in four parts (including dreamy beans) - Alinea
Pickled bamboo shoots stir fried with minced pork and green chili sauce - Aroy Thai
Mantoo - Kabul House
Pork tonnato - The Bristol
Cauliflower served with bits of soppressata, preserved lemon, and green olive tapenade - Davanti Enoteca
Fish with pickled vegetables and soft tofu - Spring World
Grilled octopus - Purple Pig
Margherita pizza - Great Lake
Chocolate cream pie - Mado
Dietzler roast beef - City Provisions

Ronna

In no particular order, my favorites in Chicago this year:

1. Tocino/Lugaw/Chicken Adobo/Filipino breakfast - Uncle Mike's Place
2. Foraged mushroom salad - Chilam Balam
3. Cauliflower pots de creme - Green Zebra
4. Beef cheeks - LM
5. Poke octopus, macadamia, pineapple, etc - Schwa
6. Roasted chicken and plantains - D'Candela
7. Duck confit hash - Longman & Eagle
8. Shoyu ramen/basket tofu/duck fat fried chicken - Takashi
9. Grilled beef heart/roasted beets - Mado
10. Kaeng som kung sot - Spoon Thai

Outside of Chicago, the fried chicken dinner at Momofuku Noodle and Yakitori Totto in NYC would have made the list.

REB wrote:Pork tonnato - The Bristol

Glad you mentioned this. I missed it when RAB described it in the Best of Thread:

RAB wrote:Last night at the Bristol: ...A section of the belly was left attached to the pork loin and wrapped around it. The wrapped loin was then brine cured for 3 days, braised, then chilled, thinly sliced, and served with a tonnato sauce and garnishes. It had the texture of corned beef, but an herby, porky flavor.

This sounds like a direct knock-off of a dish made relatively famous by Mark Vetri of Vetri restaurant in Philadelphia, arguably the best high-end Italian restaurant in the country. Vetri slices the loin into pieces that fit inside a belly, then brines loin and belly for three solid days to create that corned-beefy texture described above. Then he wraps the belly tightly around the loin slices before cooking. Though poaching is how a classic veal tonnato is prepared, Vetri spit roasts the wrapped pork belly/loin before chilling, slicing and serving with the classic, unadulterated sauce. I have not tried the version at either Vetri or The Bristol, but I did once attempt to recreate it myself with what I must admit was not much success.

Last year I had my first garden. I participated in the dessert exchange and the vegetarian exchange for most of the year. I cooked more. I’ve cooked some really fantastic things.

Still, I like to eat out… a lot.

My Top Ten in no particular order

Corn, Cream, Garlic Pizza – GNR Great Lake
Lentils, roasted tomatoes, goat cheese- Prairie Fire
Millennium Park Bean Sandwich- GNResource Pastoral
Sweet Milk Biscuit with hot apple sauce- Sweet Maple
Pumpkin Custard Concrete with Snickers- GNR Scooters
Chard and oyster mushroom taco- Big Star
Tofu sandwich with eggplant and pesto- Franks N Dawgs
Mexican Chocolate Shake with chili- Edzo’s
Apple Pancake- Huckleberry Pancake House
Falafel Sandwich & fries- GNR Al-Bawadi

Honorable Mentions- Campfire tea latte at Julius Meinl, Vanilla Cream Puff- Beard Papa, Chilled Asparagus Soup- Fred’s

The Publican - Pigs Head, creamed corn

Brand BBQ - Brandcheezie

Alinea - Pheasant (green grape, walnut, burning leaves)

Franks N Dawgs - Truffle Mac N Cheese Brat with pork belly/balsamic fries

Big Star - Pork Belly Taco

Tierra Caliente - al pastor taco

Cemitas Puebla - Cemita Atomica

Crisp - Seoul Sassy Wings

Borenquin - Jibarito

Grahamwich - Jibarito Press



Thanks LTH - couldnt have done any of it without you!

cranberry chess pie & Hoosier sugar cream pie (tie) - Hoosier Mama Pie Company

fish tostada - Big Star

roasted local Morels with bone marrow, green garlic, parsley and pickled garlic - Vie

pumpkin bread with fresh ricotta - The Publican

antipasti, including a roasted shallot atop a goat cheese and eggplant "cream" - Gaetano's

medium-rare burger - Jim's Steak House (Prospect St.) in Peoria

focaccia with truffle oil, taleggio, and herbs - Avec (I think this might always make my list)

Nutella shake at Edzo's

Not in Chicago but memorable, nonetheless: buffalo rib eye - The Raven, Gardiner, MT (buffalo hot dog was pretty great, too)

Excluding Top 10 worthy dishes at some client spots ( whole hog roast @ Lillie's Q and buffalo wings @ The Fifty/50), below are my Top 10 Chicago Restaurant Dishes of 2010 in no particular order...

Arami Ramen -- Arami
Goat taco -- Big Star
Cauliflower -- Girl & The Goat
Crispy pork belly B.L.T. sliders -- Sable
Tete de cochon -- Longman & Eagle
Chicken momo -- Cumin
Charcuterie plate -- The Publican
P.E.I mussels with white wine, dried chorizo, and tomato-saffron beurrec blanc -- Mexique
Prosciutto, basil, mozzarella, and red sauce pizza -- Coalfire Pizza
Bavarian pretzel with chocolate stout mustard -- Bangers & Lace

* Honorable mention to the "Anson Mills Grits, mustard greens, smoked mushrooms, poached eggs" at Green Zebra

EDIT:
* Additional honorable mentions to the "Pork Neck Bone Gravy with Calabro Ricotta" at Purple Pig and the Taylor Street fries at Edzo's

Here's a list from what I remember of my fav dishes. Hopefully I can remember what was in them too. In no particular order of course.

Poached Duck Egg, Spinach Coulis, Caviar - North Pond (Probably #1)
Salad of Frisee, Black Pudding, Runny Duck(?) Egg - The Gage (The unhealthiest salad ever. Absolutely delicious. Maybe it was a quail egg.)
Housemade Pastrami, Red Cabbage slaw, Horseradish Aioli - The Gage (Or something of the like, still think about this sammy, it ruled.)
Nathan's Charcuterie Plate - Vie (Went for my Bday early 2010.)
Roasted Chicken and Summer Sausage - Publican (One would think not to order chicken at the Publican, but one would be wrong.)
Frites with Farm Fresh Egg and Black Truffles - Publican (Best $36 French Fries I've ever had. Had them right before Xmas. I can just say Publican in general probably.)
Hot Dog & Fries - Red Hot Ranch (This has become one of my fav dogs. So glad it's so close.)
Char Salami Sandwich - Poochie's (With grilled onions and giardinera of course. I was impressed by this sammy.)
Ribs in Mole - Chilam Balam (Rich and Delicious.)
Kluchy - My Mother's Kitchen (Soft Chewy Polish Potato Dumplings sauteed in Onions and Bacon. I look forward to these every Thanksgiving. Man.)
Wings - Toons (Damn good Wings.)
BBQ Duck, Pork, Chicken - SunWah (Always awesome.)

Wait, That's 12. Oh well. Had a lot of great things this year. This is what I could remember. Look forward to alot more 2011.

Enjoy 2011 everyone.

I AM SO HUNGRY